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The Rubik-cube-solving robot race continues. After the classic 3x3x3 cube and the 4x4x4 cube, here comes the Lego Mindstorms robot that can solve a 7x7x7, powered by an Android phone. We are headed to mass self-destruction, I tell you.
Unless, of course, you happen to be the current world record holder, who can solve a cube in under 20 seconds. This Lego Mindstorms ‘bot was built by ARM, and managed to solve the cube in 25 seconds flat.
This is a real ad found in 1982 comic books – coincidentally, the same year I was birthed by cylinder of Tinkertoys. [flickr via CavalcadeofAwesome via Neatorama]
Somehow, I think this braille Rubik’s Cube would be a lot harder to solve than that other blind-friendly touch cube with different textures for each panel. Not saying I’ve ever solved a classic Rubik’s Cube, mind.
I’m not one of those people who ever figured out the secrets of the original Rubik’s Cube, so it was with some trepidation that I tried out the Rubik’s Slide, the newest take on the classic toy. It was hard.
Hmm. Maybe we should let the robot overlords take over a few things. Like solving our Rubik’s Cubes using nothing but Lego. I’m cool with this, especially if they do it as fast as this robot, and with trance music.
Normally hyper-intelligent robots terrify me, but this little guy has officially won me over. It uses Lego Mindstorms parts, a Lego programmable robotics kit and – of all things – a Nokia N95 mobile phone to unlock the mysteries of Rubik.
Meet the IQ Pentagon: a 4-inch Rubik’s Cube-like puzzle that’s probably so infuriatingly complex that it’s got a better chance of ending up embedded in your TV screen than a Wiimote. But hey, maybe that’s just me.
It took five people two months to recreate Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper in Rubik’s Cubes, but it will take those same five people the rest of their lives to solve it. [Popped Culture via firstcoastnews via Neatorama]